Orthodontic brackets are typically small, slotted devices for use during orthodontic treatment. The brackets are usually configured for attachment to the front surfaces of teeth, either by directly cementing the bracket to a tooth surface or by bonding the bracket to a metal band that encircles the tooth. The slots in the brackets are generally horizontally disposed, and configured to receive an archwire. Traditionally, an archwire is a resilient, curved piece of wire that may be bent or twisted prior to installation, and then seated in the bracket slots. The restoring forces exerted by the archwire are directed to the teeth by the orthodontic brackets in order to urge the teeth into a correct, or desired, alignment.
The archwire may be secured in the bracket slots by several different means, depending on the bracket configuration. For example, a “ligating” bracket typically requires fastening means, such as ligature wires or elastic bands, that are tied around tie wings on the bracket body to secure the archwire in place. A “self-ligating” bracket, on the other hand, typically includes a clamp or other self-locking mechanism, such as a closeable bracket slot, that allows such a bracket to retain the archwire without requiring the use of ligatures.
Bonding agents that are used to cement a bracket to the tooth typically establish a bond that is of sufficient strength to maintain securely the bracket on the tooth. To avoid damage to the tooth, the bond achieved by some bonding agents may release the bracket from the tooth when a threshold mechanical force is applied to the bracket, such as the impact of a sudden, direct force, shear stress from chewing food, biting upon a hard object, and so forth. However, even though such bonding agents may help to avoid direct damage to teeth by allowing the bracket to debond whenever such a force is applied, much orthodontic maintenance time is spent reattaching brackets to teeth. As such, in addition to patient discomfort and lengthy treatment sessions necessitated by inadvertent debonding of brackets from teeth, repeated bonding and debonding may abrade, deteriorate, or otherwise damage the tooth surface.